


Innocence Died Screaming

by Outlandish800



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Draco Malfoy, Pining Harry Potter, Slow Burn (somewhat)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27680038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outlandish800/pseuds/Outlandish800
Summary: Basically this is how i feel the bathroom scene in HBP should have went instead, a mix of angst and fluffy endings will ensue. The POV's will switch up every few chapters, but I'm keeping it just between Harry's POV and Draco's POV so there's less confusion.(I wrote this here so my friends would be less likely to find it, and if they do they won't be able to trace it back to me)
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley (implied)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Innocence Died Screaming

**Author's Note:**

> Title based on Hozier lyrics. There are descriptions of an anxiety attack but not in firsthand point of view, my first post on here, which I'm probably going to look back at and cringe. Enjoy whatever this is.

Harry saw Malfoy hiding in Moaning Myrtles bathroom as he looked on the map for the Slytherin, he had his suspicions that the boy was working for Death Eaters, and wanted to confront him. Harry's heart thumped loudly in his chest as he continued his quickly paced walk to the bathroom, a part of him figured that Malfoy wasn't exactly willing to be working with Voldemort, but the part of him that was suspicious drowned out the reasonable idea. Perhaps it was his mixed and confusing feelings for the Slytherin boy, but the one thing that Harry knew for certain was that something about Malfoy was not quite right. Gone were the days where Malfoy would strut about the castle, bragging about one thing or mocking another student for low funds or their blood status, and it seemed that not a single person cared about the obvious fact that the platinum boy was slowing becoming a ghost of his former self. Harry was borderline jogging as the familiar door that led to the sixth-floor bathroom came into his line of sight, for the first time, he felt no pure hatred for the boy, only suspicion, curiosity, and possibly a hint of worry. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry finally reached the bathroom door, pointing his wand at the Marauders Map and whispering a hurried 'mischief managed' before shoving the blank parchment into his robe pocket. He quietly shoved open the door, surprised to hear a soft sobbing, which most definitely was not Myrtle, as it was much too masculine and restrained, as though the person was trying their hardest to be silent. On an instant assumption, this person was Malfoy, who, when Harry had last checked the map before he had cleared it, was the only male occupying the bathroom. It was like the Hogwarts Express had just hit Harry dead on, Malfoy was crying. Of all the years they had been to school together, he had never once even heard of Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, crying, whining maybe, but never crying. Harry crept all the way into the bathroom, closing the door quietly to create a buffer between the corridors of Hogwarts and the sobbing platinum blond. He wasn't fully sure on what to do, it wasn't every day that he had to comfort one of the people who hated him, let alone Malfoy, whom Harry had yet to unscramble. 

It was as though his body had a mind of it's own, and Harry found himself walking slowly towards the sobbing boy, barely comprehending the comforting words that Myrtle was speaking to Malfoy. The ghost was the one to first notice the chosen one standing about five feet away from Malfoy and instantly floated over to him, a disgruntled expression on her face, which confused Harry somewhat. "You should go away, I doubt he wants to talk to anyone, let alone you." At her words, Harry gave Myrtle a sharp glare. "I want to help him, not do anything bad." He said quietly, glancing through her and just being able to make out Draco turning on the tap and splashing water on his face, still obviously crying. "He doesn't want to see anyone right now." The ghost-girl repeated, looking unconvinced. "Again I want to help him." Harry was growing exasperated with Myrtle, he thought it was obvious that Harry did not have malicious intent, even though it was well-known even by the ghosts of the school that he and Malfoy did not have the greatest history didn't mean that Harry was completely merciless toward the platinum blond. 

"Myrtle, do you really think I'm going to do something to him while he's in such a vulnerable state?" Harry asked, somewhat shocked that Malfoy had yet to notice his presence. The ghost huffed and rolled her eyes, looking irritated, but somewhat understanding. "I'll be listening the whole time in the U-bend." She said in a very 'don't mess this up' tone. Harry nodded and Myrtle floated away, presumable to go into her toilet, leaving him alone with a still sobbing Malfoy. "Draco?" Harry asked tentatively, causing the blond to whip around and look at Harry with wide, bloodshot eyes, drawing his wand instantly and pointing it at him. Instead of doing what Harry figured the platinum blond boy was expecting, he drew his wand and set it on the floor, standing back to his full height and keeping his hands where Malfoy could see them as if to assure the boy that he didn't have anything else on him. 

"Potter, go away." Malfoy was obviously trying to sound like his cocky self, but the tears streaming down his pale cheeks weren't exactly helping his case in Harrys opinion. "Why should I? So I can leave you alone to suffer without even trying to help?" Harry posed his question without hesitance, meeting Malfoy's grey eyes with a sympathy in his own. "I don't need your help, I don't need anyones." The Slytherin insisted, wiping away the tears with his sleeve violently, only to have them be replaced with fresh ones. "You know, it would really eat me alive if I left you here without another word, knowing that if you would let me, I could help-" Harry was cut off by Malfoy reaching out with a shaking hand for the sinks edge, letting out a strangled gasp. Harry moved toward him without hesitation, there was no way he was letting Malfoy go through this without doing something. He hesitantly set a hand on Malfoy's shoulder, which caused the boy to flinch slightly. Harry saw Malfoy's breathing pick up and removed his hand, thinking of something he could do. 

"I need to sit down." Was the only warning Harry got before the platinum blonds knees buckled, forcing him to catch the boy before he fell entirely and helping him sit. As Harry sat beside Malfoy, he noticed the fact that Malfoy was bordering on hyperventilating, and it finally clicked that he had walked in on an anxiety attack. "I can't do this I can't I can't I can't." Malfoy repeated quickly, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Alright, don't focus on that right now, focus on my breathing." Harry didn't ask what Malfoy couldn't do, that would obviously result in much worse of a problem, he instead put all his attention on helping the Slytherin calm himself before he wound up passing out. Malfoy snapped his eyes shut, his breaths coming out in choked gasps. "I can't breathe, I'm going to die, I can't breathe." The boy forced out, swaying slightly which caused Harry to put a stabilizing arm around him. "I know it seems like you can't, but I need you to try and match your breathing to mine, I promise it will help." Harry slowed his breathing, hoping that it would prompt Draco to do the same. 

Draco was still sobbing, which was most likely contributing to his difficulty breathing. Harry heard the boys breaths hitch, which was either an attempt to slow his breathing or a sign that it would only grow worse. "It's going to be alright, try to relax your muscles." Harry murmured, feeling Draco shift his head onto his shoulder, still breathing rapidly. "Do you want me to get someone?" He asked, trying to see if Draco needed something in particular. The blond shook his head slightly, mumbling something incoherent, Harry gently rubbed the other boys shoulder, trying to help ground him in any way he could. "Alright, do you think you can count to ten for me slowly?" Harry murmured, keeping his voice low. The blond took in a short breath, shaking his head again. The tears that were flooding out of his eyes had begun to soak through Harrys robes, which only fueled his determination to soothe Draco, if the platinum blond had cried that much, then Harry could figure that the sooner he helped Draco, the better off the boy would be. 

After what felt like an eternity, Dracos breaths had slowly began to return to a steady pace, the tears had yet to stop, but as long as his breathing was going back to where it should be, Harry was put a little more at ease. "You're doing amazing, good job." He whispered into the Slytherin boys ear, feeling the other male continue to tremble slightly. Harry glanced down at him, realization hitting him; one of the people that hated him most had just had an anxiety attack and had cried on his shoulder. Harry was glad that he was able to help, but it was still shocking that he had just comforted the person whom he thought he hated, and who he had once been certain despised him. Draco finally looked up at him, appearing to have the same realization as Harry. "I, I must admit, this is not what I expected." When the platinum blond spoke, his voice was hoarse and broken, but still full of surprise and another emotion that Harry couldn't quite figure out. "I take it that you're doing better now, would you like me to leave?" Harry asked, he didn't want to impose further than he already had. "No, don't leave. I-I don't want you to." 

Draco's response took Harry by surprise, but nevertheless, he stayed where he was, convincing himself that he just imagined the other boy moving slightly closer to him. "Alright, is there anything you want to talk about?" Harry didn't want to talk about something that would send Draco into another attack, so he would be sure to keep the conversation clear of any topics that he thought might be risky. "No, I just need a minute to collect myself." When Draco said a minute, Harry instinctively knew that the one minute would be much longer than that, and he was fully prepared to wait until the Slytherin boy was ready. "Alright." With that, both of them fell silent, huddled together on the bathroom floor. The last of the tears had fallen, and Draco had stopped trembling, both of which Harry was glad of, he was still worried about the other boy for obvious reasons, but he also didn't want to hover over who just that morning he had believed he truly hated. 

Once Draco was ready to talk, Harry kept in mind that he would do his absolute best to keep the subject of conversation away from sensitive things. "I think I'm ready now, and I have something that I need to tell you." By the tone of Draco's voice, Harry instantly tried to avoid that topic, not wanting to send the platinum blond spiraling back to an attack. "No, that's alright, you don't need to tell me, you don't need to talk about it if it's something that's going to make you feel uncomfortable or upset." Harry responded quickly in an attempt to subtly show Draco that speaking about whatever he had in mind wouldn't be a good idea at that time. "Look, I need to get this off my chest, it's important." 

At Draco's words, Harry suppressed a soft sigh, he knew there was no changing the subject. "Alright, shoot." He said softly. Harry waited in patient silence as Draco took in a few breaths, figuring that the Slytherin needed a moment to gather his thoughts and work out a way to tell him whatever was on his mind. "Harry, before I tell you, I want to make it clear that I did not want this, I did it to protect my mother, not for personal enjoyment, not because I thought it would be fun and beneficial, but because I know what would have happened had I said no." Harry had a feeling that he knew what was coming, he waited a few more moments as Draco finished piecing his words together. Despite practically knowing what Draco was about to say, he still couldn't help being shocked as the platinum blond finally spoke. 

"I took the mark, over the summer. I'm a Death Eater."

**Author's Note:**

> All the anxiety attack symptoms are all ones that I myself have personally experienced, so those are the ones I know a little more about. I am in no way trying to degrade somebody elses experiences, nor am I trying to disregard other symptoms, I am simply writing what I know most about, and the symptoms I feel comfortable writing about so I am not misinformed about their affects and how they feel.


End file.
